McAnulty’s Mission

The College prepares students for productive and creative lives of service in a rapidly changing world. We teach students to think, write and speak clearly and critically, so they can seek truth about God, themselves, and society, and contribute to their families, communities, businesses and professions.

Now that I am seriously considering what I will be doing after graduation, I’ve noticed how much looking ahead has paid off throughout my time in college. I don’t just mean applying to grad schools before the application deadlines or making sure your next semesters schedules works out, but those are both part of the bigger picture. Time in college goes by really quickly, and a major lesson I have learned in these short years are the benefits of looking ahead.

To prepare yourself for a successful career at Duquesne, make sure to stay on track during freshman and sophomore years. Be sure to choose your major with care. Many people change their majors, and some (like me) decide they don’t really want to a pursue a career in their major. No matter what you decide, be sure you stay on track for graduation. It’s easy to drop a class here or there, and quickly fall behind.

These first few years in college are also the perfect time to get involved in activities that are related to your major or career goals. There are clubs and activities for almost every major. Here is a link to a listing of all student organizations on campus. If you like to write, apply to be a blogger for the College of Liberal Arts blog!

During sophomore, junior and senior year, look for internship or jobs in your field. I worked as a Development Intern for Big Brothers Big Sisters the summer after my sophomore year and learned that I was interested in working in the nonprofit sector. I have learned just as much about my future career goals from the jobs and internships I’ve had during college as I have learned from classes and professors.

If you are even considering going on to graduate school, look into it early! It’s never to early to request more information about a program and see what the requirements are for acceptance. I have already run into speed bumps when applying to graduate schools. Sometimes they require specific classes (like a specific Shakespeare class, British Literature doesn’t count!) and if I had known earlier, I would have tried to fit them into my schedule last year.

College is fun and these are years you’ll never get back, so enjoy them. I also recommend taking some time out to consider your future after Duquesne because it comes up fast and you will want to be prepared!

I guess it just takes me a while for me to figure out what I want to do.

In high school, I didn’t start joining clubs and activities until my sophomore and junior year. In college, I didn’t declare my major and minor until April of my sophomore year. And last night, though I’ve been studying journalism and writing for the Duquesne Duke for the better part of a year, I finally attended my first meeting for the Duquesne chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ). It was a great time and I’m glad I went, but that’s not the point of this post.

For those of you planning on coming to Duquesne next year, you’re going to hear a lot about getting involved, finding activities on campus, getting into greek life, etc. And it’s definitely important to find an activity or two or three you like at Duquesne. However, it’s not a bad thing if you don’t find anything interesting for your first semester or so, or even if you find a group you don’t like and change your mind. You have plenty of choices and plenty of time to figure out what interests you.